Empire, Fox’s upcoming hip-hop soap opera, is aiming to win over radio programmers and music fans when it premieres on Jan. 7. Unlike the network’s Glee, Fox’s last big scripted musical, Empire will feature almost all original songs instead of covers.
“That presents a whole lot of new challenges,” says Geoff Bywater, senior vice president of music at 20th Century Fox TV, which produces the show. Unfamiliar tracks can be a tough sell for audiences, says Bywater, but “one thing we really did learn on Glee, as much as we tried, is that trying to get a cover single [on the radio] is difficult. Original music will lend a stronger, credible voice to Empire.” (The covers from The Voice and American Idol contestants don’t get radio play either.)
Veteran record producer Timbaland and his team (including Raphael Saadiq) are overseeing the music on the drama, which stars Terrence Howard as hip-hop artist-turned-label mogul Lucious Lyon. While Howard will sing and rap occasionally, most of the songs are performed by series regulars Jussie Smollett and Bryshere Gray, who play Jamal and Hakeem, two of Lyon’s sons battling for control of their dad’s business. “They were cast for their musical ability as well as their acting ability, and we tailored the music to their strengths,” says executive producer Ilene Chaiken.
And unlike Glee’s recordings, which are credited to the “Glee cast,” Empire’s songs will be cited from the “Empire cast, featuring [the actors’ real names].” (Established artists will also perform on the show, including Courtney Love, who will not play herself.)
To add some authenticity, the actors will record two versions of most tracks: One clean to air on TV, the other with explicit lyrics.
Both versions will be made available via Columbia Records, which has signed on to distribute Empire’s music. “It was the first time ever that I got a phone call from standards and practices before I even recorded a note,” Bywater says. “They wanted to make sure they get a chance to see the lyrics. We’re taking it right to the edge.”
Timbaland’s team recorded the show’s tracks in Miami and Philadelphia, with vocals done in Chicago (where the cast filmed the show). Empire writers will send the music producers a scene description, with a producer usually getting on the phone with song writers to talk though what a sing needs to say or do to tell a story.
“Those notes taken and considered when the song is put together,” Bywater says. “For a show yet to hit the air it’s certainly creating a stir [in the music business]. We’re screening the pilot for managers and publishers. If you’re in a music department in film or TV, these are the projects you love the most.”
Bywater says he compares the show to what it might be like if music mogul Dr. Dre “was looking to have that King Lear moment with his three boys. There’s a big time story that flows through it too and the music has to fit the story.”
Says Chaiken: “We want it to be realistic. The music is always part of the story and it moves the drama forward.”
By Michael Schneider
https://tv.yahoo.com/news/fox-hopes-build-empire-via-212700922.html
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TARAJI P. HENSON AS COOKIE AT HEART OF TV’S “EMPIRE”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Taraji P. Henson is driving down an LA street, chatting on her cellphone, when a billboard catches her eye.
“Hi, me! Hiiii!” she says, smiling at her latest on-screen incarnation: glamorous ex-con Cookie in “Empire,” which premieres on Fox at 9 p.m. EST Wednesday.
Draped in fabulous furs and drenched in attitude, Henson’s Cookie is the heart of the Fox drama, a fiercely devoted mother and astute businesswoman who is fearless when it comes to getting what she wants. Her sometimes-reluctant partner is Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), a music mogul deciding which of their three sons should run the family’s entertainment empire.
Henson has seen her face on billboards before, with dozens of film credits (including 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” for which she earned a supporting actress Oscar nod) and popular TV series such as “Person of Interest” to her name.
“Sometimes I forget, you know what I mean?” she says. “I just go on about my day, and look up and go, ‘That’s right, I do have a TV show coming out!'”
The 44-year-old actress pulled over to talk with The Associated Press about the new show and the empire that is Taraji P. Henson.
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AP: Who is Cookie?
Henson: She is a hero. I mean, she is the truth. She is strong. She’s family first. She’s a lot of things. She doesn’t compromise at all — never herself, and never her truth. That’s what I love about her… She says things that I might not have the guts to say. I love the way she dresses. I love how much she cares about her sons.
AP: How is it working with Terrence Howard again, your old pal from “Hustle & Flow”?
Henson: I just know that I really like working with Terrence. I trust him. And for me as an artist — acting, you really have to be uninhibited. You cannot have any hang-ups. Or if you do, they can’t breathe and live through these characters, because their hang-ups aren’t your hang-ups. So for me in order to fully explore characters without throwing Taraji in the mix, I have to feel safe… And with Terrence, I’m so safe with him, I can try anything… We’re friends. We’ve known each other, so it really works for Cookie and Lucious. When they came to me with the project, I said it has to be Terrence. When I cracked open the script, I saw no one but Terrence.
AP: What’s most challenging to you as an actress right now?
Henson: Challenging is getting what I think I deserve to be paid. (It’s) challenging to get the projects I want done or greenlit. I’m still having to prove I’m bankable. But I think it’s getting better! I’m not one to wallow in the muck and say how bad. I don’t harp on how bad things are… My thing is to prove each and every time I’m on the screen — whether it’s TV, whether it’s film, whether it’s the stage — Taraji is going to deliver. So when I do get that moment — ’cause it’s coming, I work too hard — when I do get that moment, that perfect movie comes along and some studio is going to say, ‘I believe in her.’ Not me and a man. Not me and another guy, no. Taraji P. Henson is going to open this film. Then I know that I’m doing my job.
By Sandy Cohen
https://tv.yahoo.com/news/taraji-p-henson-cookie-heart-tvs-empire-131329938.html
[Editor’s Note: Taraji is a *must watch*. Terrific acting. Hopefully she gets nominated for an Emmy for this part.]